Volkswagen “Sold out” of Electric Cars Due to Supply Chain Bottlenecks

Volkswagen has “sold out” of electric cars in the US and Europe for this year, as persistent supply chain bottlenecks hit global production.

The Wolfsburg-based group, which includes brands such as Porsche, Audi, and Škoda, sold more than 99,000 electric models worldwide in the first three months of 2022. A shortage of semiconductors and wiring harnesses made in Ukraine is to blame for the bottleneck.

In the same quarter, Tesla delivered more than three times that number.

The CEO of Volkswagen, Herbert Diess said that since the demand for their electric cars remains strong they have an order backlog in Western Europe and North America which will not be delivered before 2023.

He said that “We’re basically sold out on electric vehicles in Europe and North America. And China, it’s really picking up.” Volkswagen is targeting a total of roughly 700K sales for 2022 as they attempt to catch up with Tesla; however, production has been hindered by coronavirus lockdowns which limited their ability to sell more cars than 28800 during the first quarter alone despite having some of the largest markets like Germany or Mexico available where consumers would be interested buying them instead if not already owning one.

Customers now placing orders with dealerships across these regions are looking forward to receiving models such as ID3 or I4 when it becomes available later next year; Škoda has also proven popular among buyers so far this decade.

VW’s electric car sales in China have been struggling to meet expectations. The manufacturer missed their target last year and it looks like they’re going off track again this time around too, with only 120,000 units sold so far compared against 4 times higher than the average rate from before.

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The auto industry is suffering from rising raw material prices and the war in Ukraine. Europe’s largest supplier of cars, Bosch said they expect their previous estimate for88 million total sales to “probably won’t be met” due an adverse effect on consumers from coronavirus pandemic along with chip shortages which currently inconvenience many aspects within production processes.

Daimler also stated that “it’s still too early to give a detailed assessment of the situation”.

VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn said that there is a continued risk to the company’s business activities in China due ongoing trade restrictions and lockdowns.

However, he remains confident about electric vehicle (EV) growth prospects for 2022 as it expects “a constantly growing battery-electric volume” with every quarter projected at over 30 thousand units by then end of the year – up nearly 50% from last season’s figure.
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